Hadrons with charmed quarks in matter

We investigate the decay width of excited charmonium states at finite nuclear density with simultaneous modification of both D- and -mesons in nuclear matter. The strongest effect is found for the -meson. The medium modification can be detected by dilepton spectroscopy as substantial broadening and anomalous absorption.Received: 30 September 2002, Published online: 22 October 2003PACS: 13.25.Gv Decays of , , and other quarkonia - 14.40.Lb Charmed mesons - 14.65.Dw Charmed quarks - 24.85. + p Quarks, gluons, and QCD in nuclei and nuclear processes     

Transport analysis of in-medium hadron effects in pA and AA collisions

The production and decay of vector mesons ( ) in pA and AA reactions is studied with particular emphasis on their in-medium spectral functions. It is explored within transport calculations if hadronic in-medium decays like or might provide complementary information to their dilepton (e ⁺ e ^-) decays. Whereas the signal from the -meson is found to be strongly distorted by pion rescattering, the -meson Dalitz decay to appears promising even for more heavy nuclei in and pA reactions. Furthermore, the influence of nucleon and kaon/antikaon potentials on the yields and spectra in pA collisions is calculated and compared to the recent data from the ANKE Collaboration.Received: 30 September 2002, Published online: 22 October 2003PACS: 13.60.Le Meson production - 13.75.Jz Kaon-baryon interactions - 14.40.Aq , K, and mesons - 25.40.-h Nucleon-induced reactionsW. Cassing: In collaboration with E.L. Bratkovskaya, M. Büscher, Ye.S. Golubeva, V. Grishina, V. Hejny, V. Metag, J. Messchendorp, B. Kamys, L.A. Kondratyuk, P. Kulessa, Z. Rudy, S. Schadmand, A.A. Sibirtsev, H. Ströher     

Mott effect and J/\psi dissociation at the quark-hadron phase transition

We investigate the in-medium modification of pseudoscalar and vector mesons in a QCD-motivated chiral quark model by solving the Dyson-Schwinger equations for quarks and mesons at finite temperature for a wide mass range of meson masses, from light ( , ) to open-charm (D, D ^*) states. At the chiral/deconfinement phase transition, the quark-antiquark bound states enter the continuum of unbound states and become broad resonances (hadronic Mott effect). We calculate the in-medium cross-sections for charmonium dissociation due to collisions with light hadrons in a chiral Lagrangian approach, and show that the D- and D ^*-meson spectral broadening lowers the threshold for charmonium dissociation by - and -mesons. This leads to a step-like enhancement in the reaction rate. We suggest that this mechanism for enhanced charmonium dissociation may be the physical mechanism underlying the anomalous suppression observed by NA50.Received: 30 September 2002, Published online: 22 October 2003PACS: 05.20.Dd Kinetic theory - 12.38.Mh Quark-gluon plasma - 14.40.-n Mesons - 25.75.Nq Quark deconfinement, quark-gluon plasma production, and phase transitions     

Chromofields of strings and baryons

We calculate color electric fields of quark/antiquark ( ) and 3-quark (qqq) systems within the Chromodielectric Model (CDM). We explicitly evaluate the string tension of flux tubes in the -system and analyze their profile. To reproduce results of lattice calculations we use a bag pressure from which an effective strong-coupling constant follows. With these parameters we get a Y-shaped configuration for large qqq-systems.Received: 30 September 2002, Published online: 22 October 2003PACS: 11.10.Lm Field theory: Nonlinear or nonlocal theories and models - 11.15.Kc Gauge field theories: Classical and semiclassical techniques - 12.39.Ba Phenomenological quark models: Bag model     

\pi\pi correlations in \gamma + A reactions

Preliminary differential cross-sections of the reactions and with A = ¹ H, ¹² C, and ^nat Pb are presented. A significant nuclear-mass dependence of the invariant-mass distribution is found in the channel. The dependence is not observed in the channel. The in-medium observation in the channel is consistent with an in-medium modification of the interaction in the I = J = 0 channel, changing width and pole position of a resonant state.Received: 30 September 2002, Published online: 22 October 2003PACS: 13.60.Le Meson production - 21.65. + f Nuclear matterJ.G. Messchendorp: For the TAPS and A2 Collaborations     

Eta physics at threshold

The production of - and -mesons in elementary nucleon-nucleon collisions has been investigated at the synchrotrons CELSIUS, COSY and SATURNE. The high-quality proton beam with low emittance and small momentum spread permits to study the creation of these mesons very close to the kinematical threshold, where --due to the rapid growth of the phase space volume-- the total cross-section increases by orders of magnitude over a few MeV range of the excess energy. The magnitude and energy dependence of the total cross-section as well as the occupation distribution of the phase space serve as observables for investigating the mechanisms underlying the production processes and the interaction of mesons with nucleons. The precise data on the and creation via the reactions allowed to settle the general features of the - and -meson production and revealed the sensitivity of the mentioned observables to the nucleon-nucleon-meson final-state interaction. The particular production properties, like for example, the determination of the dominating exchange processes which lead to the excitation of the S ₁₁ nucleon isobar in the case of creation, must be established by confrontation with other observables. The present status of this investigation with an emphasis on the results of the COSY-11 Collaboration is briefly presented. The available data are interpreted in view of the production mechanism and the meson-nucleon interaction.Received: 30 September 2002, Published online: 22 October 2003PACS: 13.60.Le Meson production - 13.75.-n Hadron-induced low- and intermediate-energy reactions and scattering (energy GeV) - 13.85.Lg Total cross sections - 25.40.-h Nucleon-induced reactions     

High-resolution in-beam particle-gamma coincidence spectroscopy

A short summary of the present status of prompt particle decays in the mass region is presented. It includes recent results from a GAMMASPHERE experiment, which aimed at the combined high-resolution spectroscopy of light charged particles and -rays to allow for more detailed studies of known decays and the identification of new cases of discrete prompt proton and -particle emission from highly and superdeformed states.Received: 10 October 2002, Published online: 17 February 2004PACS: 23.50. + z Decay by proton emission - 23.60. + e decay - 27.40. + z - 27.50. + e      

Exclusive and semi-inclusive strangeness and charm production in \pi N and NN reactions

Using the Quark-Gluon Strings Model (QGSM) combined with Regge phenomenology we consider the reactions and which are dominated by the contributions of the K ^* and D ^* Regge trajectories, respectively. The spin structure of the amplitudes is described by introducing Reggeized Born terms. It is found that the existing data for the reaction are in reasonable agreement with the model predictions. To describe the absolute values of the cross-sections it is necessary to introduce also suppression factors which can be related to absorption corrections. Furthermore, assuming the SU(4) symmetry to hold for Regge residues and the universality of absorption corrections we calculate the cross-section of the reaction . Employing the latter results from reactions we then estimate the contributions of the pion exchange mechanism to the cross-sections of the reactions and and compare them with the contributions of the K and D exchanges. We find that the NN reactions are dominated not by pion exchange but by K and D exchanges, respectively. Moreover, assuming the SU(4) symmetry to hold approximately for the coupling constants = we analyze also the production of leading -hyperons in the reaction . It is shown that the non-perturbative mechanism should give an essential contribution to the yield for .Received: 30 September 2002, Published online: 22 October 2003PACS: 13.85.Fb Inelastic scattering: two-particle final states - 13.85.Hd Inelastic scattering: many-particle final states - 14.20.Lq Charmed baryons - 14.40.Lb Charmed mesons     

Near-threshold production of a0(980)-mesons in the reaction \rm {pp \rightarrow d K^ + \bar{K^0}}

Using an effective Lagrangian approach as well as the Quark-Gluon Strings Model, we analyze near-threshold production of a ₀(980)-mesons in the reaction as well as the background of non-resonant -pair production. We argue that the reaction at an energy release MeV is dominated by the intermediate production of the a ₀(980)-resonance. At larger energies the non-resonant -pair production --where the kaons are produced in a relative P-wave-- becomes important. The effects of final-state interactions are evaluated in a unitarized scattering length approach and found to be in the order of a 20% suppression close to threshold. Thus, in present experiments at the Cooler Synchrotron COSY-Jülich for MeV the a ₀ ⁺ signal can reliably be separated from the non-resonant background.Received: 26 February 2004, Published online: 21 September 2004PACS: 25.10. + s Nuclear reactions involving few-nucleon systems - 13.75.-n Hadron-induced low- and intermediate-energy reactions and scattering (energy GeV)     

Some physics highlights from the EUROBALL spectrometer

Exotic, neutron-rich proton-induced spallation products of ²³²Th and ²³⁸U obtained from the PS Booster ISOLDE facility have been investigated by - , - coincidence and spectrum-multiscaling measurements. A new method for the reduction of isobaric contamination enabled to study the unknown region beyond ²⁰⁸Pb for the decay chain A = 217. A new isotope ²¹⁷Bi with a half-life of s was discovered and its -decay studied. For the first time, a half-life value of s for the -decay of ²¹⁷Po was measured.Received: 3 March 2003, Revised: 13 May 2003, Published online: 30 September 2003PACS: 23.20.Lv transitions and level energies - 23.60.+e decay - 27.80.+w 190 A 219 - 29.30.Kv X- and -ray spectroscopyV. Fedoseyev: Present address: ISOLDE, CERN-PPE, CH-1211, Geneva 23, Switzerland.M. Górska: Present address: GSI, Darmstadt, D-64220, Germany.M. Huhta: Present address: Nokia, Tampere, Finland.     

Energy dependence of the Λ/Σproduction cross-section ratio in p-p interactions

The production of the - and -hyperons has been measured via the reaction at the internal COSY-11 facility in the excess energy range between 14 and 60 MeV. The transition of the cross-section ratio from about 28 at MeV to the high-energy level of about 2.5 is covered by the data showing a strong decrease of the ratio between 10 and 20 MeV excess energy. Effects from the final-state interactions in the p- channel seem to be much smaller than in the p- channel. Estimates of the effective range parameters are given for the and the systems.PACS: 13.75.-n Hadron-induced low- and intermediate-energy reactions and scattering (energy GeV) - 13.75.Ev Hyperon-nucleon interactions - 13.85.Lg Total cross-sections - 25.40.Ep Inelastic proton scattering     

S = -1 meson-baryon scattering in coupled-channel unitarized Chiral Perturbation Theory

The s-wave meson-baryon scattering amplitude is analyzed for the strangeness S = -1 and isospin I = 0 sector in a Bethe-Salpeter coupled-channel formalism incorporating Chiral Symmetry. Four two-body channels have been considered: , , , . The needed two-particle irreducible matrix amplitude is taken from lowest-order Chiral Perturbation Theory in a relativistic formalism. Off-shell behaviour is parameterized in terms of low-energy constants, which outnumber those assumed in previous works and provide a better fit to the data. The position of the complex poles in the second Riemann sheet of the scattering amplitude determines masses and widths of the and resonances which compare well with accepted numbers.Received: 30 September 2002, Published online: 22 October 2003PACS: 11.10.St Bound and unstable states; Bethe-Salpeter equations - 11.30.Rd Chiral symmetries - 11.80.Et Partial-wave analysis - 13.75.Lb Meson-meson interactionsE. Ruiz Arriola: Spokesperson     

Associated strangeness production at threshold

The associated strangeness dissociation at threshold has been studied at the COSY-11 facility measuring the hyperon and the K ⁺ K ^- meson pair production. Measurements of the near-threshold and production via the reaction (S. Sewerinet al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 682 (1999)) at COSY-11 have shown that the cross-section ratio exceeds the value at high excess energies ( MeV (A. Baldiniet al., Total Cross-Sections for Reactions of High-Energy Particles, Landolt-Börnstein, New Series, Vol. I/12 (Springer, Berlin, 1988))) by an order of magnitude. For a better understanding additional data have been taken between 13 MeV and 60 MeV excess energy. The near-threshold production of the charged kaon-antikaon pair is related to the discussion about the nature of the scalar states in the 1 GeV/c ² mass range, i.e. the f ₀(980) and a ₀(980) (O. Krehl, R. Rapp, J. Speth, Phys. Lett. B 390, 23 (1997)). The interpretation as a molecule is strongly dependent on the K- interaction which can be studied via the production channel. A first total cross-section value on the reaction at an excess energy of 17 MeV (C. Quentmeieret al., Phys. Lett. B 515, 276 (2001)), i.e. below the production threshold, was measured.Received: 30 September 2002, Published online: 22 October 2003PACS: 13.75.-n Hadron-induced low- and intermediate-energy reactions and scattering (energy GeV) - 14.20.Jn Hyperons - 14.40.Aq , K, and mesons - 25.40.Ep Inelastic proton scattering     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">SU</Emphasis>(2) x <Emphasis Type="Italic">SU</Emphasis>(2) nonlocal quark model with confinement

The nonlocal version of the SU(2) x SU(2) symmetric four-quark interaction of the NJL type is considered. Each of the quark lines contains the form factors. These form factors remove the ultraviolet divergences in quark loops. The additional condition on the quark mass function m(p) ensures the absence of the poles in the quark propagator (quark confinement). The constituent-quark mass m(0) is expressed through the cut-off parameter , MeV in the chiral limit. These parameters are fixed by the experimental value of the weak pion decay and allow us to describe the mass of the light scalar meson, the strong decay and the D/S ratio in the decay in satisfactory agreement with the experimental data.Received: 16 June 2003, Revised: 28 July 2003, Published online: 18 December 2003PACS: 14.40.-n Mesons - 11.10.Lm Nonlinear or nonlocal theories and models - 12.39.Ki Relativistic quark model     

Parity non-conservation in proton-proton elastic scattering

The parity-non-conserving longitudinal asymmetry in proton-proton (p p) elastic scattering is calculated in the lab energy range 0-350 MeV using contemporary, realistic strong-interaction potentials combined with a weak-interaction potential comprised of - and -meson exchanges as exemplified by the DDH model. Values for the - and -meson coupling constants, and , are determined from comparison with the measured asymmetries at 13.6 MeV, 45 MeV, and 221 MeV.Received: 30 September 2002, Published online: 22 October 2003PACS: 21.30.-x Nuclear forces - 24.80. + y Nuclear tests of fundamental interactions and symmetries - 25.40.Cm Elastic proton scattering     

Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbech calculation of total reaction cross-section and fragmentation cross-section

, and have been calculated via the BUU model with soft EOS and 0.8 times of . The density distribution without any adjustable parameters which comes from the RMF model has been introduced into the BUU calculation to replace the normally used one-parameter square-type distribution. The calculated results can reproduce the experimental data well for both halo- and stable-nuclei-induced reactions. Here or is calculated as the difference between of halo nucleus and core nucleus, by assuming . It indicates that this assumption works very well at high energy in the BUU calculation. More experimental measurements are necessary to test the validity of this assumption at intermediate energy.Received: 12 June 2003, Revised: 29 September 2003, Published online: 27 April 2004PACS: 24.10.-i Nuclear reaction models and methods - 25.60.Dz Interaction and reaction cross-sections - 25.60.Gc Breakup and momentum distributions - 27.20. + n      

Decay properties of isomeric states in radium isotopes close to N = 126

Isomeric states in ^210-215Ra have been populated by the decay of the compound nuclei ^216,220Ra produced in irradiations of ^204,208Pb with ¹²C at MeV. Published values for -ray energies and half-lives were confirmed for Ra. Our data for Ra agree with the -energies and the half-life measured at the RITU separator, University of Jyväskylä (Finland). Its decay pattern is complex. Two series of -rays of keV and keV were observed. A half-life of s was measured. The isomeric state is attributed to an 8 ⁺ state at E ^* = 2053.8keV. A previously unknown isomeric state was assigned to Ra. It has a half-life of ( ) and it decays by emission of -rays with energies of 396.1keV and 802.0keV. It is attributed to a 13/2 ⁺ state at E ^* = 1198.1 keV.PACS: 23.60. + e decay - 27.90. + b      

Exotic baryons and monopole excitations in a chiral soliton model

We compute the spectra of exotic pentaquarks and monopole excitations of thelow-lying and baryons in a chiral soliton model. Once the low-lying baryon properties are fit, the other states are predicted without any more adjustable parameters. This approach naturally leads to a scenario in which the mass spectrum of the next to lowest-lying states is fairly well approximatedby the ideal mixing pattern of the representation of flavor SU(3). We compare our results to predictions obtained in other pictures for pentaquarks and speculate about the spin-parity assignment for and .Received: 21 April 2004, Revised: 19 May 2004, Published online: 23 July 2004PACS: 12.39.Dc Skyrmions - 14.20.-c Baryons (including antiparticles) - 14.80.-j Other particles (including hypothetical)     

Experimental signals of \sigma-mesons in nuclei and chiral symmetry

The interaction in the scalar isoscalar channel is studied as a function of the baryonic density in the framework of a chiral unitary approach which successfully reproduces vacuum - phase shifts. We present some results on the -meson pole, which is generated dynamically in our model, in nuclear matter. Finally, we analyze the ( ) reaction on nucleons and nuclei in the kinematical region where the scalar isoscalar scattering amplitude is influenced by the low mass of the in nuclei, and thus, presents a large enhancement close to the position of its pole. Indeed, we find, that the final-state interaction of the pions modified by the nuclear medium produces a large shift of strength of the two-pion invariant-mass distribution in the ( ) channel consistent with recent experimental data.Received: 30 September 2002, Published online: 22 October 2003PACS: 14.40.-n Properties of specific particles: Mesons - 25.20.-x Photonuclear reactions - 21.65. + f Nuclear matter